Litcius/Paper detail

General optimal design of solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle for priority considering propulsion system

LI Xin-hua, Kaijun Sun, Feng Li

2020Chinese Journal of Aeronautics31 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

This paper describes the general optimization design method of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle which priority considering propulsion system planning. Based on the traditional solar powered aircraft design method, the propulsion system top-level target parameters which affect the path planning are integrated into the general optimization design. According to the typical mission requirements of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, considering the design variables such as wing area, aspect ratio, design mission date and so on, the general optimization is carried out with the minimum aircraft weight as the optimization objective. The influence of wing area and aspect ratio on the optimal design results is analyzed and compared with the traditional design method. The results show that the general design method of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for priority considering propulsion system can greatly reduce the electricity demand of energy storage battery, greatly reduce the aircraft weight of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Topics & Concepts

PropulsionSolar poweredAutomotive engineeringAerospace engineeringEngineeringPhotovoltaic systemOptimal designElectrically powered spacecraft propulsionSolar energyComputer scienceElectrical engineeringMachine learningAdvanced Aircraft Design and TechnologiesMaritime Transport Emissions and EfficiencyElectric Vehicles and Infrastructure